Yes, The Los Angeles Teachers Strike Is A Big Deal
Teachers in the second-largest school district in the nation went on strike this morning.
Unlike other teachers' strikes, Los Angeles has ample funds set aside that could be used to meet the teachers' demands for smaller classrooms, higher pay, and school nurses in every school (Come ON.). This appears to be a battle over educating kids who are sitting in the classroom right now versus a management plan to build charter schools. Via the American Federation of Teachers Website, emphasis mine:
UTLA is calling on the Los Angeles Unified School District and Superintendent Austin Beutner to use the city’s significant reserves and new state funding to respond to the educators’ cries for school counselors, nurses and librarians; to cap class sizes; and to prioritize the neighborhood schools that have been drastically underfunded, instead of focusing on growing charter schools.
The historic strike—the first educator strike in Los Angeles in nearly 30 years—represents a fundamental clash over the vision and values for the city and for public education nationwide. After more than 20 months of negotiations between the union and the district, it’s clear the district’s priority is not its kids, its public schools or those who teach.